As a person who has lived with type 1 diabetes and celiac disease for almost 20 years (and fibromyalgia for about 7 years) I’ve worked with my fair share of medical professionals. Finding or creating the team that truly fits your needs and supports your goals is a lot of work, and it’s also important to feel good about going to your appointments.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s easy to forget that\u00a0you<\/em> hired your certified diabetes educators (CDE). They work for you, not the other way around. Your CDE’s role is to help you and support you in the totally overwhelming task of managing blood sugar levels. So, if your CDE appointments leave you feeling shamed, guilty, powerless, and void of any motivation, there may be a few things you\u00a0<\/em>can do within the conversations\u00a0you have with your CDE that can give you the jolt of power\u00a0you need to maximize your results. And here\u2019s a little hint: they involve you<\/em> being in charge of that conversation, not the other way around.<\/p>\n Every three months you take a \u201ctest\u201d that essentially gives your CDE the information they need to make a big ol\u2019 judgment, even if that judgment is never said aloud: good diabetic or bad diabetic. Or, my least favorite term: non<\/em>–compliant<\/em> diabetic.<\/p>\n The problem with any of the above (good, bad, or non-compliant) is that they all imply that managing diabetes is easy<\/em>. That all you have to do is follow the rules and\u2014poof<\/em>\u2014your blood sugars will be what they ought<\/em> to be.<\/p>\n The moment you feel judgment coming from your CDE is that same moment you might be tuning out, because that feeling of judgment actually reveals a lack of empathy for just how overwhelming diabetes can be every single day<\/em>\u2014no matter what your A1C is. If it were easy\u00a0then the profession of being a CDE\u00a0probably wouldn\u2019t even exist.<\/p>\n If you’re feeling judged at your next appointment, try saying something like this when your A1C comes back at a higher number than your goal: \u201cOkay, I want you to know that I know\u00a0this is high, and I know my blood sugars have been high. But this stuff isn\u2019t<\/em> easy\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n Give your CDE a moment to think about this, and even to hopefully reply with empathy empathy: \u201cYou\u2019re right\u2014managing<\/em> diabetes is not<\/em> easy!\u201d<\/p>\n Then, ask for the help you need. Too often, at the doctor\u2019s office we\u2019re made to feel as though what they give us is all they have to give, but it\u2019s quite possible that they have another version to give\u2026 you just need to ask for it. (They aren\u2019t psychic!)<\/p>\n Here are a few ways to ask for that help:<\/strong><\/p>\n This is about you taking control of the conversation. Standing up for yourself. Expressing yourself. If you were at a restaurant and your meal was served cold, you would do something about it, wouldn\u2019t you? You would let them know that that\u2019s not what you ordered and definitely not what you\u2019d like to eat or pay for. The same simple logic applies at the doctor\u2019s office, too\u2014bearing in mind of course that an adequate amount of thoughtful respect should be applied in both the restaurant and the doctor\u2019s office!<\/p>\n Your CDE works for you, but they aren\u2019t mind-readers either, and their schedules are jam-packed, and they\u2019re juggling a slew of personalities throughout the day as they meet with their patients. You need to take control of the appointment by expressing your needs, explaining your obstacles, and asking for the help you want instead of just accepting the version of help they\u2019re serving.<\/p>\n If the idea of actually speaking up (like, really speaking up<\/em>) at your next appointment feels like something you can\u2019t do\u2026 you can always just send this article anonymously, too. You never know, you might accidentally help change the way your CDE communicates with several patients instead of just how they communicate with you. (And simple tip for any CDE who is reading, just ask: \u201cWhat can I do to help you?\u201d and then\u2026 listen.)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The moment you feel judgment coming from your CDE is that same moment you might be tuning out, because that feeling of judgment actually reveals a lack of empathy for just how overwhelming diabetes can be every single day\u2014no matter what your A1C is.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":66,"featured_media":44021,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"image","meta":{"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1587],"tags":[816],"yoast_head":"\nThe \u201cNon-Compliant\u201d Diabetic: A Term That Should Be Obliterated From the Medical World<\/h2>\n
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